aharcall

I would like to agree with the post regarding 'superficial reasons' hiding a deeper more complex reason for returning. When explaining to most people why we returned to Uk we tell them that our sons didn't settle well and we missed family and friends. However, underlying our decision was the fact that my sister died unexpectedly a week before we emigrated and my eldest son has a cleft lip and palate and was desperatley unhappy as he has another major operation coming up and he found it extremely difficult being away from the consultants he has known his whole life. You have no idea how difficult it is going to be to deal with all these complex emotions until you are in the situation. No amount of forward planning can reveal how hard it is to physically go through the process of emigrating. I loved Oz itself and although I researched the medicare system and what is covered medically - it did not tell you about the emotional impact of moving from a system that you know so well. I missed superficial things about the UK such as certain shops but that would never have been a reason to move a family all the way back to the other side of the world. As a family at the moment we are happy here in the UK but I miss Oz and my eldest son now has plans to move back to Oz and go to university when he finishes college and has completed his medical treatment. Two years on from my sister passing away - emotions are not so raw and I think in a years time I will be in a better place to try again - maybe.

We wanted to move to Oz for years after spending a year in our twenties travelling round Oz. Twenty years later we arrived in Oz. Spent 7 months on sunshine coast. Missed Uk and family and friends and turned round and came home. Don't regret going at all - all part of life's rich tapestry. However, have been home 16 months and not a day has gone by when I haven't thought about going back to Oz. Think I will always have itchy feet and I love the sunshine and heat. UK has it's good points but then so does Oz. Will we go back? Maybe - got till Jan 2012 before our visa runs out so who knows. We'll see where life takes us over the next year whilst we wait for our eldest son to finish College and our youngest to finish school. To everyone thinking of moving to Oz, all I can say is give it a go, you will never know if its for you if you don't try (just be ready for the difficult emotions it stirs up and go with your eyes open).

regarding the riots - they were bad in a few places for a couple of days. Was all over the news and the papers and obviously went world wide. But on the whole the majority of people are of one mind in condeming the rioters - or should I say 'opportunists' who jumped on the band wagon because they thought they could get away with it. Having been back in the UK for over a year now, I would say that I am finding more and more reasons to stay here. Just had a lovely weekend in Portsmouth. It was our anniversary and had a vast choice of restaurants to pick from on Friday night. Then on Saturday went to watch football (we lost but the atmosphere was great) with a drink in a proper pub before hand. Sunday, lovely weather and went for a lovely walk along the seafront - and there were three different events going on for free. One was a Thai food festival, then the Band stand had free music and dancing on and finally a VW convention on the common. Came home and sat in our small but perfectly formed back garden with beautiful greenery and summer flowers - pear tree nearly ready for picking. Not one rioter etc to be seen all weekend.

Hi We moved to Oz in Sept 2009 and moved back to the Uk in April 2010. Been home over a year now and having thoughts of giving Oz another go next year before our Permanent visa runs out in Jan 2013. Would really love to hear the stories of other ping pong poms who have been back and forth to Oz and whether things have finally worked out how they wanted or envisaged and what made it work the second (or third) time around, if it did. Our sons are due to finish A levels and GCSEs in July next year and that feels a much better time for us to try again. There were a number of reasons it didn't work out for us at the time but we feel that we have a better understanding now of the whole process and hope we can overcome the feelings of home sickness with the benefit of hindsight and make a good go of it second time around.

So sounds like the fees are about the same as those in the UK now that they have gone up. The only difference will be that my son probably wont be able to put it all onto a student loan as he would be able to here in the UK. I know its not great that he will end up with a stonking great debt. But he probably would even in Oz in some shape or form.

im hoping they arent too much

We emigrated to Oz in 2009 with our sons who were 16 and 15 at the time. My eldest had completed his GCSEs. Unfortunatley for lots of reasons we ended up coming back to the UK after 7 months and have now been home for about a year. We have permanent resident visas which don't run out until January 2013. My eldest is due to complete his A levels in July 2012 and my youngest will finish his GCSEs at the same time. My eldest is starting to think about University - he wants to study marine sciences. With the increase in fees here in the UK he is also considering whether to go to University in Oz. It may well be that we all move back to Oz before our visas run out. What I am trying to find out is would our son be classed as an international student or because we have permanent residency as a home student. If as a home student would he be eligible for any loans etc for payment of fees. Could any one help with this or does anyone know where I go to find out the answers?

Lots of people end up coming back to the UK because they dont like it in Oz or dont settle, so to leave the country doing something like that and thinking you will never come back again is not really a wise thing to do. We emigrated and came back (not that we evaded taxes or left credit cards) so perhaps it might be helpful to mention this to your friend as it may be somthing they havent thought about. Best not to burn all your bridges as they say.

thats exactly how we feel after moving back last April!

We kept our house and we were glad we did as we didnt settle very well and came home. Still having our house just made it less stressful when we decided to come home but even if we had stayed I would be happy knowing that we still had the equity as a pension pot/nest egg when we were older should we need it.

Hi We lived on Kawana Island for 6 months but returned home to England last April. Kawana Island was lovely but felt a bit cut off - wish we had lived the other side of the Nicklin Highway. We started off in Moffat Beach which we loved. Both my boys (16 and 14) went to Kawana high school. We found it okay and we didnt seem to encounter any problems with alcohol or drugs there. My boys quite liked it. However, they went to a private school in the UK so the standards werent as good as we were used to. We came home because my eldest son in particular didnt settle although he loved the surf life saving lessons from school and was a volunteer life guard. I also was very home sick. Just to say that since coming home we have all realised that we did like it there and may in fact ping pong back to Oz before our PR visa runs out in Jan 2013. My eldest son is considering Uni in Oz. All the best with your move.

We didnt sell our house and kept our credit cards so didnt have a problem. Also we we were lucky that my hubbie got a good job nearly as soon as we got back and i got back into temping too which led to a full time job not long after. Dont think it would have been such an easy decision for us to come back if we had sold our house. (not sure it thats good or not really).

Hi we are a family of four with two teenage sons who were 16 and 14 at the time. We stayed 7 mths Sept 09 to April 10 on the sunshine coast. We have now been home in our old house nearly 9 mths and are quite happy. There were lots of reasons we came home and looking back we think there are a lot of things that we did wrong. A close family member died a week before we were due to fly out and we had to rebook flights. It was the hardest thing I have ever done emotionally. We still have two years left on our permanent resident visa and both my boys are now making noises about going back to Oz, the youngest because he has realised he actually liked living there and the oldest because of wanting to go to university and being put off by uni fees in the UK. Both my hubbie and I have discussed the whole episode and at the moment are not ruling out trying again in two years before our chance slips away for good and our visa runs out. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I find I am now missing things about Oz and the sunshine coast (quiet as it was). Who knows what the future holds but I will say to anyone thinking about moving to Oz - do it as you will not understand the emotions of it all until you actually do it. Dont listen to anyone who has sat on their butts in the Uk or Oz and never moved anywhere. It could work for you and then it again it might not but life is for living and we dont regret our move (both ways) at all. It has left us all with a much better understanding of life and what is important to us.